Where Are Wormholes: Shortcuts In Space?

Just like there are clever shortcuts on Earth to beat the traffic, what if there were "shortcuts in space" to bypass the enormous distances in the universe? That’s basically what a wormhole is - a theoretical tunnel through space and time.

Wormhole history

Technically, a wormhole is called Einstein-Rosen bridge.

The concept began with Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen in 1935. They discovered that theory of general relativity made strange structures to link distant places in the universe possible. The term wormhole for such a structure was coined by physicist John Wheeler in the 1950s.

Physicists were fascinated. Wormholes soon became a favorite tool in science fiction. But the only problem with Einstein-Rosen bridge or wormhole is that the kind of wormhole described by Einstein and Rosen equations would collapse too soon for anything to pass through.

Picturing wormhole

Imagine space as a giant flat sheet of paper. If you draw two dots on opposite sides, the shortest way to connect them is a straight line, right? But what if you could fold the paper in half so the dots touched? Now you can connect the dots instantly - no long journey needed. That’s the basic idea behind a wormhole.

Wormhole literally

Now the wild thing is wormholes do not just connect space. They are also portals in time. If one end of a wormhole moves faster than the other, time would pass differently at each end. Therefore it is theoretically possible to use wormhole for time travel.

Math of wormhole

The math behind wormholes comes from Einstein’s field equations, which describe how mass and energy shape space and time. Massive objects bend space and time — like a bowling ball on a trampoline. If space can bend, maybe it can also fold too — bringing two distant points closer.

When scientists solve Einstein's equations under special conditions, wormholes are one possible result. Most solutions show wormholes collapsing before anything can use them. To keep wormhole open for long time, we need to create matter with negative energy, which is not quite possible.

Wormhole in media

Writers are fascinated by wormholes as they allow characters to hop across galaxies in seconds, which keeps stories moving without spending 1,000 years in a spaceship. Shows like "Dark" and "Doctor Who" have made use of wormholes in their plot.

Movies like Interstellar, Contact and Thor use wormholes in their storylines. Interstellar uses a scientifically inspired wormhole near Saturn to allow humans to explore other galaxies. In Contact, an alien-built machine creates a wormhole for interstellar communication and travel.

Do wormholes exist?

Have we ever discovered a wormhole, like we discovered a black hole? Math allows wormhole existence but astronomers have yet to identify one. Some scientists believe that wormholes might be hidden inside black holes. Others say they probably don’t exist at all.

Wormholes sit at the intersection of science and imagination. Wormholes offer a hopeful vision of overcoming the vastness of space — or even time. Whether practical or not, wormholes inspire stories, dreams, and real scientific questions.

Who knows? Maybe someday, wormholes will go from sci-fi fantasy to part of our cosmic travel plans. Until then we will have to thank Einstein and Rosen for empowering our writers community.